To think this is a poor music choice?

[Peekingduck]

The Boots advert with the lad leaving the presents and running away - Small Town Boy wasn't a happy Christmassy song -

You leave in the morning
With everything you own
In a little black case
Alone on a platform
The wind and the rain
On a sad and lonely face

Mother will never understand
Why you had to leave
But the answers you seek
Will never be found at home
The love that you need
Will never be found at home

Run away, turn away, run away, turn away, run away.
Run away, turn away, run away, turn away, run away.

Pushed around and kicked around
Always a lonely boy
You were the one
That they’d talk about around town
As they put you down

And as hard as they would try
They’d hurt to make you cry
But you never cried to them
Just to your soul
No you never cried to them
Just to your soul

Run away, turn away, run away, turn away, run away.
Run away, turn away, run away, turn away, run away.

Cry , boy, cry...

You leave in the morning
With everything you own
In a little black case
Alone on a platform
The wind and the rain
On a sad and lonely face

Run away, turn away, run away, turn away, run away.
Run away, turn away, run away, turn away, run away.

I deliberately haven't watched the Boots ad because they sent me an e-mail telling me it was "hush hush" and a major event (s*d off Boots) but I find it difficult to see how a song about a young gay man being oppressed and running away to London to get away from his abusive father would make a good soundtrack for an advert exhorting us to buy toiletry gift sets. But what do I know??

One of my favourite songs, but certainly not uplifting Christmas music.

The song itself isn't about a young gay man being oppressed.

The video is.
Jimmy Sommerville is openly gay.
The song doesn't mention it.

And YY I love this song (and I saw The Communards live in Glasgow many moons ago)

Love the song, love the Communards, but yes, now you come to mention it it is a slightly strange choice for a Christmas advert.

Always makes me giggle when I hear 'the Revd. Richard Coles' being introduced on Radio 4 in a grown-up serious manner. I have to stop myself humming Don't Leave Me This Way.

Thought the song was by Bronski Beat? Showing my age now.

Even if it is not about a gay boy running away from home, the lyrics are pretty clearly about a boy running away from home - still not the bestsound track for selling Christmas gift sets! I would have thought!

Actually it was Bronski Bea, but Jimmy Sommerville had many incarnations . (It was definately The Communards I saw though, he had that female co-singer with the long hair.
And Richard Cole - swoon. )

Enough already

I highly doubt Morrissey had "shite from john lewis" in mind when he penned Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want thought either?

Or indeed Liverpools Finest "Frankie Goes to Hollywood"
thought
"I know, I think 'The Power of Love' will grace the Crimble advert for Britains premier department store"

instead of trying to convince us gullible adoring fans that they weren't a load of filth merchants ( RELAX ) and could actually write naice songs

I didn't say it was the ONLY inappropriate song attached to an advert.
This one hit me from the moment the advert started and the music started. I thought "What a fucking stupid song to put on a "happy" advert".

I'm not keen on Christmas adverts at all though to be honest.

The Boots advert at the moment is of a young, small town boy, running away (after delivering gifts only available at the UK's best* Pharmacy) - I'm making that connection between the song and the ad. Wasn't thinking about anything else at the time.

*best may be substituted for a word of your choice

I know this is old news but (for once!) I did a search before starting a thread myself. This ad is annoying me every time it comes on, it is a great song, very emotive, and it pisses me off that it will be known to many people now as the present-dropper song rather than a moving account of homophobia.

If I stopped watching things I'd taped last week I wouldn't have to hear it again of course!

I wasn't aware of the song, and I hadn't seen the ad, but I do think that there is obviously an association with the video which is not there in the lyrics at all. As far as the lyrics go, it seems pretty spot on.

How are they spot on? Genuinely confused! The boy in the ad returns home to a gift from mum and dad - they boy in the song has had to run away from some hurtful situation and is sad and lonely..